Mario Carrillo

KUT News intern

Mario will be an intern at KUT for the spring of 2011. He is currently a student at UT Austin pursuing his MA in Journalism. Prior to UT, he spent 27 months in Costa Rica as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His reporting interests include Mexican-American studies, immigration issues, and the ongoing drug war in Mexico. He was born in Chihuahua, Mexico but grew up in El Paso, Texas and has a BA in Communication from UT-San Antonio.

Politics

4:24 pm

Wed May 4, 2011

An anti-bullying bill has cleared a major hurdle towards becoming law. House Bill 1942 cleared the Texas House by a final vote of 94-41.

The bill, authored by State Rep. Diane Patrick (R-Arlington), hopes to, according to the bill's analysis, "take a preventive approach to reducing bullying in Texas public schools and to provide a minimal framework for schools to use in adopting and implementing a bullying policy, while being cognizant of the local control independent school districts should have in developing policy reflective of their respective communities."

Mon May 2, 2011

Austin city officials say have no plans to ratchet up security following the death of Osama Bin Laden and concerns that Islamist radicals could stage reprisal attacks against the United States. But Police Chief Art Acevedo is urging people to report any suspicious activity. He said that over the next week or two, residents should expect more uniformed police officers patrolling the city's streets.

Business

11:11 am

Wed April 13, 2011

A survey by the Texas Farm Bureau's "Grocery Price Watch" found that Texans are paying more for some food staple items.

The report shows an increase in prices for pork chops, lettuce and tomatoes between Q4 2010 and Q1 2011. According to Gene Hall, director of public relations for the Texas Farm Bureau, a hard freeze in Mexico earlier in the year was part of the cause, but only a part.

Education

3:07 pm

Mon April 4, 2011

According to the Leander ISD website, Leander High School evacuated its students at about 2:30 this afternoon on the advice of Leander Police. According to websites for both the school and the district, the evacuation was only a precautionary measure. District officials say there is no reason to believe that the evacuation is related to an incident that happened on the Leander High campus an hour earlier.

4:23 pm

Wed February 23, 2011

The first African-American to fly aboard the Space Shuttle was in Austin today.

In honor of Black History Month, Austin Community College invited Dr. Guy Bluford to speak to ACC students and community members today. He talked about his experiences of traveling to space and his work on the International Space Station. After his talk, Bluford talked to KUT News about the Space Shuttle's pending retirement.

This Sunday's Super Bowl will showcase two of the league's premier quarterbacks: Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh's two-time champion Ben Roethlisberger. But along with that, Super Bowl XLV will also feature former Texas Longhorns and players who made names for themselves in the Lone Star State. Sunday's big game, played in Dallas Cowboys Stadium (or "Jerry World", as some people refer to it) will be a homecoming for some of the players.

Here's our list of Texas football players looking forward to the game of their lives this Sunday.

cold weather

2:25 pm

Wed February 2, 2011

Cold weather and power outages could snarl rush hour traffic this afternoon. Some intersections, like the one at 6th and Lamar, were backed up for blocks because traffic lights went out. City official recommend driving with caution.

"They're going to come across some signals that are dark," City of Austin Public Works spokesperson Sarah Hartley told KUT News. "Maneuver them the same way they would a four way stop sign. It's going to be just like your good old traffic education that you learned when you got your license. If it's a four-way stop, the people on your right are the first to go and just alternating turns."

As the power gets restored in each intersection, the stoplight initially flashes red before returning to its normal light cycle.

11:39 am

Wed January 19, 2011

Since U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s announcement last week that she will not seek re-election to the in 2012, names of several possible candidates, from both major parties, are beginning to surface. And while it’s still early, the GOP appears to be in prime shape to keep the seat regardless of who runs, according to a recent Public Policy Polling poll.